Customer Reviews

Driving Force

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

OK, let me say first that I like pet rabbits, and in a way, a pet rabbit is one of the heros of this story. I like a lot of Francis's books, but this one had that something extra for me.

Dick Francis has a winning formula: he writes books about a young man of around 30, in a career most people might think is boring, but which turns out to be exciting. His hero is usually taken for granted and under-appreciated by his family, and under-employed, but in the course of the book proves he is far smarter, cleverer, and more observant than anyone supposed. Usually, there's a highly intelligent middle-aged career woman who recognizes his worth and helps him along. It's a formula, but the details that Francis provides makes it work every time.

Our heros in this book include not only Freddie Croft, who owns the horse transport business, but a veterinary epidemiology researcher who is quite a character. We learn more, perhaps, about viruses, parasite-born diseases, and other related things than some people might want to know; if you're squeamish, you might not want all the details of some of the illnesses we hear about along the way.

The stock middle-aged woman character this time is a rather unusual woman truck driver; Francis has always been in the forefront of having women in interesting careers; even back in the 60's, many of the women in his books held jobs. One doesn't tend to think of mystery writers/racing writers as being on the leading edge of trends, but Francis has shown himself to be so, in having career women, gays, and the disabled as important and strong characters in his books, even in the midst of the old-fashioned and conservative racing world.

This 1992 mystery focuses, as do all of Francis' books, on some part of the racing industry. This time it is the horse transport business. Freddie Croft had been a successful jump jockey (like Francis himself) for many years. When he retired from racing he began a transport business based from the farm he had inherited in Pixhill, a popular horse training area. The business had begun to flourish but as the novel opens Croft has discovered that two of his drivers had broken company policy by picking up a hitchhiker who died during the ride.

As the story progresses Croft's problems increase, he is attacked, kidnapped, his property vandalized, his computer hacked, an employee killed and to add to the aggravation his drivering force is succumbing to the flu that is sweeping the area.

As is the case in all of Francis' work, his hero is a flawed individual, a loner with a secret problem from a dysfunctional family. He bravely and stoically endures his trials, finds romance and a way to cope with his burden along the way just as Francis' heroes all do. Despite the formulistic nature of Francis' work he once again manages to breathe life into his characters and to make the story come alive. Even though a longtime reader of his books knows quite well were the story is going there are always surprises along the way.

This would appeal to fans of mysteries in general as well as horse enthusists. The mysteries are clever, orginal and fairly laid out with all the necessary clues for the reader to follow.

I've yet to read a Dick Francis book I didn't enjoy. His leading men all tend to be kind of the same guy, but it's a character that works. Freddie Croft is tough, but not too tough... smart, but not too smart.. and somewhat of a reluctant ladie's man. I always find myself picturing Francis's leading men as the Daniel Craig version of James Bond.

But enough about Freddie! The story here is pretty solid and interesting, even to someone who doesn't know patooie about horse-racing. Everything is from Freddie's point of view... there are no sneak peeks into the mind of the bad guys or what's happening while Freddie is elsewhere. I found that quite refreshing. I think too many suspense novels fall into that multiple point-of-view trap and it takes something away from the story. I found myself trusting the people Freddie trusted and feeling ambivalent about those he wasn't sure of, and I think it added that extra zing of emotion to the big reveal at the finish. I highly recommend Dick Francis if you're looking for something a little different from today's usual mystery/suspense story.

Before the advance into my daily life of computers, my two favourite subjects were trucking and horses, so when I picked up a copy of Driving Force, I was instantly absorbed. This had everything.. even, to my surprise, computers!

I'm usually more of a Science Fiction/Fantasy buff, but I do enjoy a good mystery now and again, so long as: 1) I don't know who the culprit is in the first five pages; 2) It doesn't start out with "It was a dark and stormy night." 3) When the solution finally comes it doesn't present something implausible, impossible, or downright silly; and 4) It doesn't leave too many loose ends.

This book satisfies all of the above.

I've read approximately 90% of Mr. Francis' books
and I must say that this is by personal favorite;
with plenty of twists and turns all experienced by
the reader through the eyes of the morally stalwart hero. It's non-stop interest from beginning to end. A must-read for any Dick Francis fan. Definitely my pick for Francis' best work.

Freddie Croft, is an ex-jockey who owns and operates a horse transportation service. When an employee fails to follow the rules and picks up a hitchhiker Freddie fires him. But it is the hitchhiker who dies in the truck and Freddie is left holding a loaded gun he doesn't know exists.
Dick Francis can take you into the world of English racing as no other writer can, introduce new and deadly means of evil and lead you to cover each page looking for clues, which are buried as you follow his hero over many courses to an exciting finish with surprising results.
Pick up any Frances, you're in for a good read.
Nash Black, author of SINS OF THE FATHERS and QUALIFYING LAPS.

Francis at his best. This time, our hero owns a horse transport company, and there's lots of details and intrigue about the horse community and the competitiveness of racing

Dick Francis is one of the best writers ever! i have read many of books and this is one of my favorite. He is wonderful. I wish that I had his talent. The end of his books is always a surprise. I love his work.

I hadn't read any of his books. This is very well done. It might be a tad bit dated with a kind of Thatcheresque theme, but all the pieces go together like clockwork.

Driving Force by Dick Francis might even be a little more excellent than his other works, but it's hard to say because they are all grand mysteries. All of the author's tales are tied to different aspects of the horse racing industries and its surprising just how many there are. From bookies to diamond merchants, his mysteries arise fresh and different in each new book. Most of his villains are truly appalling characters and his heroes tend to be somewhat regular until they are drawn into the mystery. In Driving force the hero is Freddie Croft, who owns a racehorse transporting business. It turns out that this business, like most of the others covered in Francis' stories, is a lot more complicated than you'd expect. To add to the enjoyment of reading a great mystery you will also learn about huge trucks that can carry nine valuable racehorses and their grooms at one time. There are also interesting bits about people viruses, horse viruses and computer viruses. All in all an excellent read.